Lawsuit: Walmart worker fired after caring for sick child

A former Tallahassee Walmart cashier is suing the big-box retailer, alleging he was fired for missing a shift because he was taking care of a sick child.

Anthony Kelley filed the lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Tallahassee. The Marie Mattox law firm is representing him.

According to the lawsuit, Kelley was supposed to work on Aug. 11, 2016. But after his son got sick and started throwing up blood, Kelley took him to the doctor, who later determined the boy suffered an allergic reaction to something he ate.

Kelley realized he wouldn’t be able to work his shift that day and used a mobile app to report he would not appear as scheduled, the lawsuit says. He reported for work the next day, without any further absence.

About two weeks later, Kelley went to work but couldn’t clock in. During a subsequent conversation with higher-ups, a store manager took Kelley’s Walmart badge and told him, “That’s policy,” the lawsuit says.

Kelley tried to explain that the absence happened on the same day his son got sick and he had to take him to the doctor for treatment. He offered to get a doctor’s note, and the manager said if he did, he’d be fine.

The next day, he showed the note to the manager, but the manager refused to acknowledge or take the note. The store manager said there was nothing he could do.

Walmart fired Kelley “in retaliation for taking leave that would have been protected under the (Family and Medical Leave Act) to care for a serious medical condition of his minor son,” the lawsuit says. “(Kelley) had a sufficient amount of personal leave time to cover the medical emergency and was unaware that this type of absence would be counted against him as an unexcused absence.”

Kelley also alleged in the lawsuit that Walmart “has a pattern and practice of terminating employees for taking necessary time off to attend family emergencies.” It mentioned another such employee who was fired but later reinstated. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, along with lawyer fees and costs.

The lawsuit doesn’t specify which Walmart employed Kelley, but the store manager worked at the Thomasville Road location around the time the plaintiff was fired.

Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or follow @JeffBurlew on Twitter.